The results of Ottawa's 2018 municipal election are coming in. Incumbent mayor Jim Watson has been re-elected as the mayor of Ottawa. It will be Watson's third term as mayor.
While it was a historic victory for Watson, it was an emotional one as well-- in his post-election press conference, Watson acknowledged it was his first election victory without his parents, and said he hoped they were, "looking down on him with pride." Watson opened the victory event saying, "I love Ottawa!"
Thank you Ottawa for your vote of confidence. I am humbled and privileged to have the opportunity to serve you once again. I look forward to 4 more great year and to keep on #WorkingforabetterOttawa! THANK YOU!https://t.co/SgMwCS1avH
— Jim Watson (@JimWatsonOttawa) October 23, 2018
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau extended his congratulations to Watson over Twitter late Monday night.
The residents of Ottawa have benefited so much from the steady leadership of @JimWatsonOttawa. Jim your victory tonight is well-deserved. Congratulations again. https://t.co/CQq6WK2sAb
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 23, 2018
With every election there will be some upsets-- one of the biggest upsets in the Ottawa area came out of Stittsville, where incumbent Shad Qadri lost his seat at council to Glen Gower. Gower won handily, with 58 percent of the vote in the one-on-one race. Another noteable upset coming out of Gloucester-South Nepean, where former CTV Ottawa anchor Carol Anne Meshan beat out incumbent Michael Qaqish. She won 42.5 per cent of the vote compared to 38.7 for Qaqish. Shawn Menard has also beaten out incumbent David Cherunchenko to take the council seat in Capital Ward.
Ottawa was guaranteed at least four new city councillors in this election, as four wards did not have an incumbent running. The four wards were Orleans, Bay, Innes, and Kanata North. The winners of those wards were Matthew Luloff in Orleans, Theresa Kavanaugh in Bay Ward, Laura Dudas in Innes, and Jenna Sudds in Kanata North.
A few precarious wards went to the incumbent councillor, including Rideau-Vanier going to Mathieu Fleury, and Riley Brockington in River Ward. Tim Tierney won his ward with 81 percent of the vote, despite being in the midst of an OPP anti-rackets investigation that caused him to recuse himself from the Ottawa Police Services board.
Overall, voter turnout was 42.5 percent, up from 40 percent in 2014. There were seven women total elected to city council out of 23 wards, up from four women elected in 2014.
With files from CTV Ottawa.